[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 135 (Tuesday, September 13, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5510-S5511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            DISASTER RELIEF

  Mr. DURBIN. There is one other area I wish to speak to. I know my 
colleague from New York is going to be on the floor shortly. The area I 
wish to speak to is disaster relief.
  I strongly support the disaster relief funding bill. As Americans 
undertake the physically and emotionally difficult task of rebuilding, 
cleaning up, and recovering from hurricanes and flooding and even 
earthquakes, we must see that the Disaster Relief Fund is there so they 
can get back to their own lives as quickly as possible.
  The year 2011 has been a record year when it comes to natural 
disasters. The cost of recovery from Hurricane Irene alone could reach 
$1.5 billion. We have seen it this year in Illinois. It has been tough 
from Chicago to Cairo in the southern portion of our State. We have had 
blizzards and floods and tornadoes and troubles all around. Our State, 
like most other States, has seen the damage and has felt it personally. 
People are trying to put their homes back together again.
  Here is a photo--I saw this in person when I visited the State 
earlier this spring--around Cairo in the southern part of the State. It 
was an awful situation. We had flooding along the Ohio River that 
troubled and bothered the folks who live in southern Illinois as well 
as Kentucky and adjoining States, Missouri. Some of our towns, such as 
Cairo, were literally threatened with being inundated. They had to blow 
levees, which basically means to open up a place for the river water to 
flow. That flooded farmland in Missouri and Illinois, and we have to be 
sensitive to the fact that there were real losses there that need to be 
paid for. That record flooding really slammed the southern part of our 
State. The devastation was felt in the entire region.
  The damage was not just there. I hear from people throughout the 
southern part of the State who are still struggling today because of 
this flooding. Anthony Miles in Urbandale, IL, is an example. Flooding 
from the Ohio River rose so high that he could not even find his 
lawnmower in the front yard. All he could see was the river water. In 
Metropolis, IL, my friend Mayor Billy McDaniel said that people are 
still trying to get the floodwater damage repaired in that town months 
later. Harrah's casino in Metropolis, which is a major employer and 
source of revenue in that area, was completely inundated with water, 
and hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs need to be done.
  Some argue when it comes to these disasters that we cannot afford to 
help people in America. It appears to me that the guiding principle and 
motto of the tea party in America is this: Just remember we are all in 
this alone. That is what we hear over and over from them. Whenever we 
have a problem facing us in America where we come together as a family 
to solve it, the tea party stands on the sidelines and says: Don't do 
it. Let them fail.
  This morning, Senator Reid quoted a leading tea party advocate in the 
House who said: The Federal Emergency Management Agency should be put 
out of business.
  I wonder where he lives. I wonder if his home has been spared. I 
wonder if he has seen people who through no fault of their own have 
lost everything because of a disaster. When that happens in America, we 
step in and help one another. We don't get tied up in some political 
debate. We don't find ourselves completely stopped from stepping 
forward and doing what is right, and we can't let it happen this time 
either.
  Those who say we have to cut other government programs and education, 
medical research, for example, to pay for the devastation, whether from 
Hurricane Irene or flooding or earthquakes or tornadoes, I just don't 
think they understand there are critical areas of government spending 
that have been cut back already, and to cut them even further would 
jeopardize the future of this country and the well-being of many 
families.
  I wanted to show a chart here which demonstrates the amount requested 
by the administration over the years by different Presidents for the 
Disaster Relief Fund. In each and every one of these cases, regardless 
of whether it was a Democratic or Republican administration, how much 
of these funds do you think were offset with funds from other accounts 
in the Federal budget? None. Zero. In 2000, when more than $3.5 billion 
was appropriated for disaster recovery, how much was offset? None. In 
2005 and 2006, when communities all over the South were recovering from 
Hurricane Katrina and more than $2 billion was appropriated each of 
these 2 years for recovery, how much of that was offset? None. Under 
Republican Presidents, such as President Bush, as well as Democratic 
Presidents, such as Presidents Clinton and Obama, we have not required 
offsets in the rest of the budget when we have literally faced a 
disaster. We have stepped up, provided the money, and moved forward.
  The number and cost of disasters have grown dramatically over the 
past few years. I do not want to engage the Senate in the debate about 
climate change because I know people get red in the face and want to 
come to the floor and tell us their political views of the science of 
this question. But I will tell you this: The property and casualty 
insurance industry of America testified before my committee recently 
and said they see what is coming--more disasters and more costs than we 
ever imagined. One of the experts said to be prepared to say every 
summer of your life from this point forward: This is the hottest summer 
I can ever remember. That is what the future is going to hold.

  As these temperature swings get worse and worse, they precipitate 
these terrible storms. I am not an expert on much, but I am perhaps a 
little bit of an expert after almost 30 years of flying 48 roundtrips a 
year between Illinois and Washington, flying on commercial airplanes. I 
think I know a little bit about that, maybe even a little more than 
most. This is one of the roughest periods I can remember. For the last 
several months, the storms and turbulence have been greater than I can 
ever recall. I hope it is an anomaly. I hope it never happens again. We 
are told by the experts it is likely to continue. It means more storms, 
more damage, more disasters, and we do not have the funding here in 
Washington waiting to pay for it.
  We have to step forward as the need arises and meet our obligations 
to the families and businesses that have been negatively affected. We 
know that this damage which I showed in the southern part of my State 
reaches all over the State. This is an area of Galena, IL, the home of 
General Grant, the President, Ulysses S. Grant, and this area in the 
northwest part of my State also

[[Page S5511]]

has been flooded, causing extreme damage to the people in the area. It 
is just another example of what we have been through.
  If we freeze the money for disaster relief, as some have suggested, 
it would mean the repairs being made to recover from floods and storms 
from April and May will not be reimbursed. From Metropolis, IL, and 
southern Illinois, they are facing damage there that needs to be 
repaired--the city of Carmi as well.
  On Friday, President Obama requested $5 billion in new disaster 
funding, $500 million in supplemental money for fiscal year 2011. The 
President recognizes 2011 has been an exceptional year for natural 
disasters and that the recovery from Hurricane Irene alone could tax 
FEMA beyond what it is capable of providing.

  This money is desperately needed for the families and businesses 
trying to clean up and put themselves back on track. I strongly support 
the supplemental appropriations for the disaster relief fund. Let's 
help our fellow Americans get back on their feet.
  Madam President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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